THOUSANDS of homes in Dorset are still without electricity as energy suppliers work to repair networks and provide welfare provision.

After Storm Eunice ripped through the south coast, close to 200,000 homes in the area were left without power and SSE have warned repairs could be slowed as further weather warnings are issued for Sunday and Monday.

The Met Office said Storm Franklin forecast for Sunday and Monday could cause further issues across the area and hamper efforts to repair and restore services.

One estate in Wimborne has been without power since Friday afternoon - with residents claiming there has been little communication despite large numbers of homeowners being on priority listing.

Tia Lovett, who has two young children, one with severe heart disease, says she has been passed from pillar to post, with promises of phone calls back never returned.

After more than 24 hours with no updates, residents of Wimborne Chase, were told in the early hours that a generator would arrive later today.

"We'd had no updates on Friday so it got to 9pm and we had both our children in our bed by torchlight as they're scared of the dark. 

"I phoned SSE first thing Saturday again and was again promised a call back. We heard nothing.

"That's what it's been like the whole time.

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"We managed to stay somewhere else last night, but there are families on the estate with children who are self-isolating and they can't go anywhere and have no power.

"It's desperate. If the power doesn't come back today, I'll have to scrape together some money for a hotel tonight. 

"It's half term next week and we'd stocked up the freezer, I don't know what we are going to do to replace all the food.

"I just hope the generator arrives sooner rather than later."

Tia estimates there are around 400 homes on the estate - with another 20 on the other side.

SSE say a welfare centre is available for people to charge phones and get hot food in Verwood Road near Horton.

Marcel Cullers, director of Security Nation, runs a hot food and drink van for homeless people in the Southampton area. He was contracted by SSE to provide free meals to people in the Verwood and Wimborne area who have experienced power cuts.

He told the Echo: “I own Security Nation so I called the van Feed the Nation and I was asked if I could help and I said of course. I think this is SSE’s way of saying this is the very least we could do.

“I was here last night until 11pm and served around 300 people between here and Stockbridge – I think I cleared Tesco out of all their bacon.

“Everybody who comes is grateful and it’s SSEs way of trying to reach out. Some elderly people can’t come out for the food, so SSE handlers come to me and I’ll give them the food to take to those who can’t come – they’re doing the best they can and I don’t charge anything for it.

Bournemouth Echo: Power cut map from SSEPower cut map from SSE

“People can come have a bacon roll, burgers, chips and a cup of tea or coffee. It’s simple stuff but I think it makes a difference for people. It is what it is and hopefully everyone gets something.”

SSE said in an update at 11am this morning that Storm Eunice caused 1,000 points of damage on the overhead line network, more than 100 times that of an average day.

Richard Gough, director of distribution system operations, said: “The hurricane-force winds of Storm Eunice have resulted in some of the most extreme and challenging conditions experienced in the south of England for decades with significant impact on our overhead line network.

“Our teams have worked extremely hard to restore power as quickly and as safely as possible to over 180,000 customers. We expect to make continued good progress tomorrow but with complex repairs and the risk of further weather impact, we expect the restoration of some localised faults to extend into early next week.

“We apologise to our customers for the continued disruption and reassure them that we are making every effort to restore their power, while giving them the best available information in order to make informed choices. We are also prioritising support for our most vulnerable customers, working closely with our local resilience partners.

“We continue to urge people not to approach any damage to our equipment and instead to report it by calling 105 or logging on our Power Track App and engineers will investigate as soon as possible.”